So I wanted to open up a topic on my new area of expertise here for SoI, Social Media and Community Management. Let me preface this that Staff and myself will make decisions on how we are going to do things, this is to open the floor up to the players as I believe in Staff transparency and I enjoy hearing what the players think.

Those of you that are here in these forums now are the ones that love SoI, you're the ones that are passionate about it in so many ways. I'm extremely happy to see that as you're going to be the foundation of this community we have here and you're also going to be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what works. I appreciate that feedback and will accept any of it, just be ready for my own comments back on it.

So what's the plan then? Well, my hope is to start working on getting our Social Media strategies set in stone (Facebook & Twitter). Get our rules for the forums all set so we don't have to worry about things, maybe even look at the forums to see if we might need to add things later on (we're not making any changes now). Lastly put a plan in place to get information about SoI coding, building, design, etc out to you in a timely manner while also trying not to disclose information too early. This could be announcements, news posts on the front page, and then even a Palantiri newsletter/blog.

I'm opening this up to you. Ask me questions, give me suggestions, tell me what you want to see, what you think would be a good idea, whatever. Like I said, you're the founders of this community and I appreciate your feedback on it.

Good day, sir. And good job on the new role. Good luck with it as well.

My main concern with our front to the world is actually the website. The old website design from many years ago was phenomenal. It exuded professionalism and artistry. This one, while functional, is quite bland. And as the face of the whole operation, I think we need to try to get a new one or return to the old site design. First impressions count a lot. I've backed away from many games or MUDs based on website design alone. And I don't want to see that happen to SOI. It deserves a chance.

I am not certain if this falls under your jurisdiction, but it is such a huge part of who we are to the world that I cannot see it being anything other then that. Facebook/twitter/etc are ancillary. They are like our arms and fingers into the world. The website is the face and it needs to be pretty.

"Staff transparency." This has come up a few times, and though Parallel had its own failings, there is one thing it did better at than any other RPI I can think of: it fixed the culture of Administrating a MUD.

With SoI, Atonement, etc., when people became Admins they took new names. A certain portion of the playerbase starts off knowing that Holmes is Malkara, and that slowly spreads, but we're all supposed to pretend that Holmes is Holmes. We pretend Holmes doesn't have Malkara's previous connections, and yet secretly judge and/or praise him based on decisions Malkara might've made. It spreads throughout the playerbase as people in-the-know leak which Admin used to be which player.

Does SoI's current Administration have any plans to end the pretend game we all go through with 'new' admins with their 'new' names, and increase transparency in that fashion? What other ways are you going to use the Social Media/Community Management position to increase transparency?

Also: you should consider using Googledrive for the Palantiri so you can drag others into writing/editing it with you.

tehkory wrote:Does SoI's current Administration have any plans to end the pretend game we all go through with 'new' admins with their 'new' names, and increase transparency in that fashion? What other ways are you going to use the Social Media/Community Management position to increase transparency?

Excellent post, tehkory. For the record, player port staffers will not be allowed a player account on the game, period. As for taking on a new name / identity, I guess that's up to the admin. I don't care one way or the other.

Regarding who we are... I think everyone knows who I am. If you don't, it's me, twpaige, aka Methuselah, aka Nimrod.

BoogtehWoog wrote:Good day, sir. And good job on the new role. Good luck with it as well.

My main concern with our front to the world is actually the website. The old website design from many years ago was phenomenal. It exuded professionalism and artistry. This one, while functional, is quite bland. And as the face of the whole operation, I think we need to try to get a new one or return to the old site design. First impressions count a lot. I've backed away from many games or MUDs based on website design alone. And I don't want to see that happen to SOI. It deserves a chance.

I am not certain if this falls under your jurisdiction, but it is such a huge part of who we are to the world that I cannot see it being anything other then that. Facebook/twitter/etc are ancillary. They are like our arms and fingers into the world. The website is the face and it needs to be pretty.

I fully agree with you here and I think I already commented on this on the other thread. Take a look at the Website thread and we can talk more there.

tehkory wrote:"Staff transparency." This has come up a few times, and though Parallel had its own failings, there is one thing it did better at than any other RPI I can think of: it fixed the culture of Administrating a MUD.

Great post also, I agree. I myself have always been known as Dero here at SoI, when I first started I had the name Knoxx, but that was short lived when I came on staff back then. I am completely open and honest on who I am, I don't care who knows who I am. If you want to know who I am on Armageddon, I'm formally the staff member known as Ath, and my GDB account is JustAnotherGuy.

If other staff want to keep up a different face than their Admin selves, that is up to them. Some people prefer the secrecy and it makes them more comfortable and gives them the freedom to play their character without any chance of bias or favor for their character. I know personally if I am playing a character in a Clan and I join a forum for it, I won't be joining as Dero. That just wouldn't be fair to the Clan in question and could show favoritism and such. I'd actually like your option on this though.

/derail
On a note with staff transparency, player opaqueness! Can we bring back the culture of not informing each other of who we play until the obligatory post in the Green Dragon? Yes, we have all played with each other for a very long time, in many cases a decade or more, but now can we strive to bring back the earlier times of our gaming lives when it was all fresh and new, we were all diving in to the unknown?

I am aware this is something I can do myself and will be doing so but the game as a whole seemed so much grander and mystifying back then when we were all in a similar way.

Hawkwind wrote:/derail
On a note with staff transparency, player opaqueness! Can we bring back the culture of not informing each other of who we play until the obligatory post in the Green Dragon? Yes, we have all played with each other for a very long time, in many cases a decade or more, but now can we strive to bring back the earlier times of our gaming lives when it was all fresh and new, we were all diving in to the unknown?

I am aware this is something I can do myself and will be doing so but the game as a whole seemed so much grander and mystifying back then when we were all in a similar way.

I would tend to side with the Brit on this point as well. I'm not a fan of in-game information being exchanged through ooc means. I often wonder how much fun it'd be to have only the game and no forum with all communication being done in-character. Interesting, but I doubt many would take a shine to this.

If you have a current character, you are not allowed to post on the forums that you are them, until they have been dead for a RL month or so. What you do on AIM is your business, but if your forum account becomes a mouthpiece for your character, and aim as well, I won't be particularly pleased.

Now, as for who I am...

I am Kaine, R2213, Icarus, HAL, the Alpha and the Omega, your Lord and Savior, etc.

Frankly, with most IMMs, they really /become/ their new identities. I don't even remember who Frigga was in whatever past life she might have had.

If you use either of these, you should join. I will be trying to be there to answer questions on these, giving away special tidbits on whats going on behind the scenes, and per Icarus if you join, you get a free sword!!!! OMGWTFBBQ, I want a sword. All I get is work to do. (How Icarus gives away the sword is up to Icarus...)

Well it isn't a lonely place anymore. I've been chatting with people on there. I plan to do some special Facebook only features on there, so I would suggest following there. Twitter will have its own specials also.

I didn't even realize people were talking about me over here, lol. No, I'm not a ghost. I'm real and alive, I assure you. People have talked to me on the phone, and at least one player has met me IRL.

As for about myself, I've had two identities during my stint at SOI. I started playing SOI back in 2004. Few people would likely connect me with my old player account Jsmi0808 as I was decidedly mum on the forums. (Even Nimrod who has known me longest of the current staff might not have been able to recall my account name at this point.) I was only really tangentially involved in the OOC player community, and spoke to a handful of folks. I got invited to group chats sometimes, but I'm not even sure everyone there knew who I was (or perhaps even cared. )

Thus, for many people who never spoke with me directly, I'm probably most concretely known from my player days as the pof Caera, the Master Baker who made her rounds through various playing areas over the 6 RL years I RPed her. This is a fact that I think is known to some degree in the PB as I've mentioned it when discussing crafting or yon Olde Osgiliath days with some folks.

(I guess now that's been published folks can feel free to start a GDI Reddit-style AMA post and discuss her if someone feels compelled.)

I was also Graloka (AKA Gra) the female goblin for a stint too , until I killed myself during the first and only time I was directly involved with PvP as a PC, lol. (Ironically, during an unsuccessful raid against Caolafon I might add. )

I've been involved at one time or another in other games or startup projects. In recent times, I've been AKA Clio, Ita, and Meriwether. I'm going to keep my Frigga identity here because I'm attached to it, it's what people associate me with at this point, and I wouldn't give up the ability to make Norse-God related jokes for anything.